Wheat, Corn and Soybeans End Higher As Crops Disappoint

Grains and soybeans ended higher Tuesday after the condition of U.S. crops disappointed traders.

CBOT Corn for July rose slightly to end up 0.7% at $3.59 a bushel, soybeans for July were up 0.5% at $9.11 a bushel and wheat rose 0.7% to $4.53 a bushel for July.

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A U.S. Department of Agriculture report released after Monday's close said 67% of corn is excellent or good versus 68% expected, according to Allendale, 66% of soybeans were good or excellent versus 68% expected and about 41% of winter wheat is harvested versus 44% expected. Spring wheat is in bad shape, with only 40% in good or excellent condition versus 72% this time last year.

In northern South Dakota, the March to May period was the driest since 1980, according to WeatherBELL Analytics. The report helped spring wheat futures surge to a three-year high to end up 2.7% at $6.81 a bushel for July. The grains and soybean markets are now looking ahead to Friday's report on acres planted.

"For the most part, trade is expecting to see a slight reduction to corn acres and an increase to soybean plantings," said MaxYield Grain. Analysts surveyed by the Wall Street Journal are expecting 89.82 million acres of Corn versus 94 million last year, 89.946 million acres of soybeans versus 83.433 million last year and 46.045 million acres of wheat versus 50.154 million last year.